NC Penguin

Interesting idea but if you're working in the US with the average 10 days paid vacation, it may not be doable unless you want to blow your entire annual vacation time on a single trip.

Also, what happens if there's complications as a result of the work?

Tracym

Under some circumstances, yes it's covered by NHS (had someone go through this a while ago). But... the wait can be months even with an active infection. And the wait was months longer if anesthesia was desired.

Tracym

Just info for the OP - in addition to shopping around, there is a company - Carecredit - which is specifically for the purpose of loans to finance medical/dental/veterinary care. Perhaps that might help.

Haggerwood

I used my "short term disability" I also have 5 weeks vacation but I did not have to use it because I have 4 weeks short term disability. This is the link of my dentist
http://www.medicaltours.ro/dental-tr...al-travel.html
Also I am just a client but it was great I wrote all about it on my blog. Most will fly you back if you have any problem dental tourism is a big thing now. My insurance even covered 1500 of my treatment. Hungary seems to be the capital of dental tourism and look at India they are also getting in on the act.

Elvira

Eh?

I had all my wisdom teeth removed as and when necessary - never had to wait. Never heard of anyone having to wait...

What is it with you and the NHS? Can't you just leave off, seeing that you have never lived in the UK...

Tracym

Well now you have heard of someone having to wait. Fiance had one out recently, that was his experience.

They asked a question. I just looked it up to see if it was covered. On the NHS's own website. And asked fiance who is actually there today, which you aren't at present.

I've never said I was there, I've been totally honest about that.

If you don't like what I have to say, I'm sorry about that. But I'm not making it up.

jumping doris

Same here. If our dentist thought it would be a difficult extraction he might have referred you to the dental dept at the hospital..but all on the NHS.

Elvira

You have been knocking the NHS at every opportunity, based on anectotal evidence.

I don't know what your agenda is, but I am getting pretty tired of reading aout your extrapolations. Doesn't the fact that most Brits here, who have actually experienced both systems, prefer the NHS, count for anything in your book?

Tracym

I don't think it is free, at least not now or in all cases. But here, check it out for yourself, I didn't read every detail.

http://www.nhs.uk/England/Dentists/DentalTreatment.cmsx

Tracym

Well feel free to not read "my extapolations" if you don't want to. Won't bother me a bit.

I have no particular agenda. And the experiences of the people I actually know hold the most weight for me, not yours. I don't discount yours, but the things that are currently happening, and to people I know, are the most important to me.

You've knocked the US system far more than I have the NHS - in fact, the only thing I have ever really referred to is the wait times. And I've been polite about it besides.

So I really don't have anything more to say to you about it. No point in arguing really imo.

DollyLlama

One of my nephews who lives in Edinburgh, Scotland had bother with one of his wisdom teeth.
He went to the Dental Hospital last Saturday afternoon, had to wait 2 hours and got it extracted.
So not that long a wait for him.

Elvira

This is the last thing I am going to say to you:

If memory serves me right, you started this whole debate (on another thread, a week or so ago) by asking why so many Brits worry about healthcare in the US and plan to retire back to the UK because of this concern.

As for being polite about criticising: Most Europeans are not aware that 16% of Americans are without health insurance. If they did, I am sure most of them would consider this as obscene as I do. The fact is, Europeans simply cannot comprehend the notion that a supposedly civilised nation considers it acceptable that people lose their life-savings and homes, or die, because they cannot afford to pay for health care.

jumping doris

It would be free if it were done at a dental hospital, according to your link.

My husband had one of his out at the hospital and we didn't pay.
You do pay for dental care in the UK...free is perhaps the wrong word.
However it has never cost me as much as it does here, bearing in mind that we are paying high monthly premiums here and also paying some part of the treatment.
I can't remember the costs now but they weren't so high that I did without the treatment. But that's what I have to do here.
My children had much better orthodontic treatment in the UK and all of it was free.

Tracym

I think it may vary depending upon the area, what health trust etc. Keith has several times been faced with months of wait - and sometimes gone private because of it. He says it can be hard to get in with a NHS dentist, they can be "full".

I think at the time of his infected wisdom tooth, he wasn't near the dental school. There was some other reason the dental school wasn't an option, but I'm afraid I can't remember.

They needed different facilities to use anesthesia other than local, which is why there was a longer wait in that cae.

Just so I'm clear, I am not saying there are ALWAYS waits by any means. Just that there can be. In what percentage of the time, I have no idea. Before I ran off the the UK (perhaps someone was suggesting the OP do that) I'd want to make sure there wouldn't be a wait in that particular case.

Tracym

Actually my question was if people had a problem with the quality of care or the cost. That was it.